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Orange Is the New Purple
"Orange Is the New Purple" is a three-issue comic by Joe Books. It is written to both stand as a story and to get new or long-absent fans up on the numbers of the who's whos and the what's whats. It contains the first if minimal attempt at bringing together all Darkwing Duck fiction of the past and features the effective debut of Muckduck. Summary Part 1 Megavolt targets the Main Street Lit-Up Electrical Parade to liberate the floats, but Darkwing and Launchpad intercept him at the Quackenbush Tunnel. Darkwing uses his gas gun to drive the lead float into a nearby fountain, thereby shocking Megavolt into defeat. The cops take it over from there, leaving the two crimefighters free to head to 539 Avian Way to attend a barbeque hosted by the . Drake, of course, hates it, but behaves for Gosalyn's sake. His trials include dodging an inquiry about Morgana Macawber and paying Tank ten bucks to save him from TV night. It makes for a fine distraction of worse brewing, because one of the cops Megavolt has been entrusted to is Negaduck in disguise. And he needs Megavolt's assistance for one of his schemes. Before the hour of revelation, Darkwing is invited to the satellite headquarters that once belonged to Taurus Bulba. These days, it's in the hands of SHUSH who want to use it to extend their protective services and need Darkwing's cooperation because they still are short on agents. Darkwing agrees and is introduced to Doctor Desiree Bell, who will act as his liaison. His good first impression is for nought when Launchpad and Gosalyn, under the impression they have their hands on a copy of Space Kerfuffle IV: Wormholes of Kremblex, use the facility's lasers to destroy part of the Gorblatt Nebula. The next morning, the incident is deprioritized when Drake hears that there's going to be a ribbon-cutting at the new St. Canard Maximum Security Penitentiary and he's not invited despite being responsible for most of the inmates getting behind bars. Gosalyn goes there on a school trip and Drake decides to go on his own initiative. The children receive a tour from Warden Dullerd himself, who first relays the facility's history as being built on the old St. Canard Power Plant and therefore is power failure-proof. To Gosalyn's incredulity, Honker's horror, and Mortimer's delight, the second part is a zoo-like walk past the various cells. The children are guided past the Liquidator, Isis Vanderchill, Camille Chameleon, Cement Head, Muckduck, One-Shot, and Bushroot, along with an empty cell previously occupied by Fluffy, who was moved to solitary. The last part that has to do with villains is the arrival of Megavolt, who according to Dullerd is the last superpowered villain loose in St. Canard. Mortimer, an avid villain fan, thinks he recognizes the guard that wheels Megavolt in and his senses are right. It's Negaduck, who reveals himself the moment Dullerd promises that St. Canard now is safe. The crowds of journalists, children, and part of the personnel rushes for the exit as Negaduck gloats about what he'll unleash. Gosalyn tasks Honker with ensuring the safety to their class while she returns to the chaos to look for Mortimer. Darkwing, unknowingly to him exactly as Negaduck planned for, arrives then. The remaining cameras distract him from the villain as he tries to make his entrance look good. Negaduck incapacitates him with a large hammer, then shortcircuits Megavolt so that the penitentiary registers an attack. This causes the facility to go into lockdown. Before Darkwing can properly comprehend what is going on, Negaduck makes it crystal clear as he releases every single inmate from their cell. In a matter of seconds the crimefighter is surrounded by his enemies, each one ready to draw blood. In a twist of fate, Negaduck's twisted mind provides a sliver of solace. Darkwing gets half an hour to run and hide within the escape-proof prison, after which it is pitchforks and torches on his trail. Part 2 As pressing as the situation is inside, outside it's oddly quiet. Launchpad and Honker have remained to try to break out Darkwing and Gosalyn and to their company an atrocious journalist by the name of Derp Derfson has added himself. His disinterest is palpable and his incompetence indisputable, but although he annoys Launchpad, there are lives to save before spending effort on removing the reporter is justifiable. Meanwhile, the villains have all members of the press and personnel who got locked in with them under control, which Negaduck takes as his cue to call the hunt, even though only twenty of the promised thirty have passed. He is so kind to inform Darkwing that his time is up. The first villain to reach the caped crusader, the Liquidator, arrives a trickle later. he lands a few punches before Darkwing can recollect himself and try sponge ammo against the water-based mutant, but by now Liquidator has learned ways to compensate for that particular vulnerability. Fate is on Darkwing's side, though, because their battle takes place within the laundry room, which is where the detergent is stored. Liquidator gets shelves full toppled on top of him while Darkwing escapes through the carbage chute. In hindsight an inadvisable move, because it leads straight into Muchduck's cell. As Darkwing struggles for survival, Tuskerninni and Chronoduck keep track of the proceedings in the control room. They in turn are being watched by Gosalyn, who is using the air vents to safely look for Mortimer and her father. At the end of one she steps out into the kitchen and is spotted by Lilliput. He attempts to capture her to earn a reward from Negaduck, but Gosalyn is both bigger and stronger and has no trouble leaving him behind all tied up. Her protege has somehow winded up in solitary and draws the interest of Fluffy, who is a villain nerd in his own right and recognizes Cat-Tankerous despite the size difference. The fresh news that Negaduck isn't dead and has taken over the facility interests him less than Mortimer's explanation that he used to have unstoppable armor in his villain period. Fluffy offers to tutor the child in the ways of villainy for his freedom and on the chance that Mortimer might be willing to repay him one day. During all of this, Darkwing escapes Muckduck's grasp but endures the heap of refuse on his heels. His salvation comes in the form of Ammonia Pine, whose freshly-waxed floors improve his speed and whose hatred of filth makes her and Muckduck mutual neutralizers. Next is a battle with three Beagle Boys. They go down easily enough and just in time for Launchpad to make his entrance. He explains that he'd had a feeling Darkwing could use his help and had entered the penitentiary just before the lockdown. Although he doesn't use "S"-sounds in his lines, Darkwing recognizes him as Camille Chameleon for the simple reason that Launchpad doesn't do exposition. Seeing that deception doesn't work, Camille moves on to brute force. After some experimenting, she takes the form of a cilophyte for the extra arms. She seems to have the upper hand, but in toying with her victim he gets the opportunity to apply Quackburn's Fast-Heating Ouchie Strips to her form. She overheats and loses control of her powers, becoming a harmless palm-sized lump. Darkwing continues his trek smugly, oblivious to the heating pads' fall towards the ice sculpture holding Isis prisoner. On Fluffy's advice, Mortimer puts on his mean face and travels to the villains' hub area where an escape project is in progress. Cement Head is digging for access to the former power station's power lines when the child gets escorted in by Pokerface. Negaduck is sufficiently impressed to let Mortimer explain his intention to join him. Negaduck is insufficiently impressed to let him do that too, but changes his tune when Mortimer gives Megavolt a beating. He accepts the child as his understudy, but then is called away by Chronoduck. He and Tuskerninni have caught the presence of "Darkwing's tagalong" on camera and this fact is of no little interest to Negaduck. He orders the villains to target her too, but to bring her to him alive. In the meantime, Darkwing has made short work of Ample Grime, but has lost against the superior numbers of the remaining prison guards, who have all been turned into servants of Mistressterious. Part 3 As Launchpad tries to blast through the penitentiary gate to no avail and Derp Derfson continues to be an incompetent reporter, Darkwing is trapped in the illusions of Suff-Rage, who has now changed her name to "Mistressterious" (an even worse name, in Darkwing's opinion). Just when it seems like the end for Darkwing, however, Isis Vanderchill cuts in and freezes the villain and her guards right where they stand. After taking a moment to update her hair and wardrobe, Isis attempts to woo Darkwing and give him a big kiss, but Darkwing slips a metal pole in between them and she gets her lips stuck on it, allowing him to continue onward. Elsewhere, Gosalyn is causing a ruckus with Bushroot and Dr. Fossil as they try to control their experimental plant-dinosaur crossbreeds. When Gosalyn sprays the tiny creatures with water from the fire hose, they grow to enormous size and turn on their creators, and Gosalyn heads to the cafeteria where Darkwing is currently fighting with One-Shot and losing. She gives One-Shot a spray with the hose to stop him from finishing Darkwing off, and he is unable to throw a spoon in response as he has already thrown one at Darkwing, allowing the masked mallard to knock him out with a punch. Reunited, Darkwing and Gosalyn leave, but a soap-suds-soaked Liquidator suddenly comes out of the hose and knocks them both unconscious. Darkwing and Gosalyn are taken to Negaduck, who are putting the finishing touches on his new weapon: a giant railgun fueled by the Power Plant that the penitentiary runs on and, with added power from Megavolt, will fire a bullet with enough force to smash through the "unbreakable" penitentiary walls. He then turns to Gosalyn and explains that he has been looking for someone to continue his chaotic work when he's gone, and while Mortimer is a loyal student, he really want Gosalyn to join him in the ways of evil. Gosalyn's response to Negaduck is a swift kick in the beak, and so she and Darkwing are tied up and put directly into the railgun's line of fire. Mortimer slashes Darkwing's tie as "something to remember him by". This turns out to be proof of Mortimer not being evil, as it also serves to allow Darkwing to break out of the ropes and fire a spring-loaded boxing glove at Megavolt just as the railgun fires. The sudden blow sends the railgun turning upward and it fires a big hole in the roof. With no time to charge for a second shot, Negaduck has Liquidator smash the water main, allowing the villains to float up to the hole and escape. Pausing to pull Mortimer to safety, Darkwing grabs Isis as she comes running to embrace him again and throws her into the rising water, freezing all the villains and putting Negaduck's plans on ice for good. As order is restored, Warden Dullerd claims that since Negaduck's takeover was a break-IN, it doesn't count against his claims that the penitentiary is escape-proof. Neither he nor the press notice Negaduck as he casually grabs a cup of coffee and heads back to the cells. When Megavolt asks why he's still hanging around, Negaduck claims that he needs a secret base and that there's no better place for him to be in regards to what's coming next. At the Mallard house, Launchpad is angry that Derp Derfson never got his name right, but Drake tells him that he'll get used to it. Gosalyn is at least glad that Mortimer isn't a villain after all, and Drake believes that he'll steer clear of evildoers from now on. Unbeknownst to all, Mortimer has secretly helped Fluffy escape by smuggling him out of the penitentiary in his backpack. Cast Quotes : "Don't mock me! My therapist said I shouldn't be exposed to negative energy! Or positive, according to my parole officer..." :- Megavolt. : "I don't know what the big deal is. I wasn't going to brand him. I mean... probably." : "Though I'm delighted my daughter delivered a duly deserved dispensation of justice, it's important to remember we are guests in the Muddlefoot home." : "I was okay with it." :- Gosalyn, Drake, and Honker on Tank. : "How am I supposed to follow in your footsteps if you ground me every time I give a bully a good thrashing?" : "Follow in my footsteps? Slow down, daughter of mine... There'll be plenty of time for that when your teenage years kill me." :- Gosalyn and her loving father. : "Relax, Honk... No matter how secure this place is, Warden Dullerd isn't stupid enough to walk an entire class of children into general population." : "Ah, here we are, kids... General Population!" : "I stand corrected." :- Gosalyn gets her first hint that Dullerd is not first choice for the job. : "One-Shot! It says here he can throw any object with deadly accuracy... but he can never throw the same thing twice!" : "He sure threw a tantrum more than once." :- Mortimer and Gosalyn discuss One-Shot. : "I mean, if there were even the slightest chance of a breakout at this facility, would I have the media and a classroom full of children here? I'd have to be the most incompetent civil servant on the planet!" :- Warden Dullerd vastly underestimates how well he knows himself. : "Let's remind this stinkin' city who's Public Enemy Number One!" : "Doctor Slug?" :- Gosalyn plays with fire around Negaduck. : "All the world's a stage, and all the people, merely morons. And that's a sharply appropriate segue for..." : "I am the terror that flaps in the night!" : "Yep, right on time." : "I am the scissors cutting the ribbon on a new age of peace and prosperity! I am--" : "As slow on the uptake as usual!" :- Negaduck knows Darkwing all too well. : "I don't know how you've returned, Negaduck... But you've chosen the right venue! This prison is where you'll be getting your copies of Chainsaw Aficionado delivered for the foreseeable future!" :- Darkwing has something of a clue on Negaduck too. : "Attention, Duncewing! You probably feel like you've got a few more minutes... but time flies when you're on the run!" : "But... but time puns are my thing..." :- Negaduck and Chronoduck. : "GYAAAAAAAAH! It's in my eyes! It is my eyes!" :- Liquidator doesn't like soap. : ""Let's go to St. Canard," you said! "It'll be like takin' candy from a baby," you said!" : "How was I supposed to know stealin' candy gets ya five ta ten in this burg?" :- Bigtime and Bouncer Beagle. : "That's right. Quackburn's Fast-Heating Ouchie Strips... Available at Webgreens Pharmacy, and wherever medical supplies are sold! It's nice to finally have a lucrative endorsement!" :- Darkwing. : "You two lunkheads called me in here to point out that you're all clumsy incompetents? Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad. But my chainsaw, on the other hand..." :- Negaduck. : "We now go live to talking shirt Derp Derfson. What can you tell us, Derp?" : "It's cold out here, Chip. I should have brought an overcoat." : "About the hostage situation, Derp." : "The hostages are probably much warmer, Chip; I do believe the prison has central heating." :- Derp tests Chip's patience for the umpteenth time. : "Despite Longpants McClure's best efforts, the doors remain undamaged, Chip! Have you ever seen anything so impenetrable?" : "Only your skull, Derp..." :- Chip's patience with Derp is at an end. Gallery Notes References * The arc's title is a reference to the 2013 television series Orange Is the New Black, which title itself is an adaption of the common phrase "[new black|[... is the new black]]". * The Main Street Lit-Up Electrical Parade is a homage to the Main Street Electrical Parade. * The street sign that Darkwing uses the gas gun's hook on in issue 1 denotes an intersection between Zaslove Avenue and Stones Street. The first is named after Alan Zaslove and the latter after Tad Stones. * The movie scene Darkwing is reminded of in issue 2 is the trash compactor scene in the 1977 movie Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. * "Found Footage" movies date back to 1980, but they were popularized in 1999 with the premiere of The Blair Witch Project. They've enjoyed steady presence since, although the fad quality Tuskerninni speaks of in issue 2 is reserved for the early 2000s. * Fluffy utters the line "Negaduck? Hmm. It seems the reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated." This is an adaption of "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.", a popular misquote of "The report of my illness grew out of his illness; the report of my death was an exaggeration." by Mark Twain in 1897. * In issue 2, Camille takes the form of a cilophyte modeled after Ursula from the 1989 movie The Little Mermaid. Thereafter her powers go haywire and force her into nine different shapes. These shapes represent Comet Guy, Flarg, Beelzebub, the King, E. Thaddeus Rockwell, Nodoff, Ordinary Guy, Banana Boy, and Wacko. * Isis's ice dress is a reference to Elsa's ice dress in the 2013 movie Frozen. Her new haircut is another allusion to Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Continuity * Launchpad claims to not have a driver's license in issue 1, but more than once Launchpad has been the driver of the Mallards' car and the Ratcatcher. Aaron Sparrow has clarified that Launchpad's license has expired.Aaron Sparrow on Launchpad's license on Twitter * The Muddlefoots met Morgana in the cartoon episode "Malice's Restaurant" and Morgana disappeared at the end of the comic "F.O.W.L. Disposition, Part 4". * SHUSH establishing a space station could be a follow-up to the ending of "F.O.W.L. Disposition", keeping in mind the original intents for "Dangerous Currency". * The random bunny on Negaduck's file photo in issue 2 is a callback to his deep-seated hatred of bunnies. * Launchpad was the CEO of Quackwerks from "The Duck Knight Returns, Part 4" to "Campaign Carnage, Part 4". He was the mayor of St. Canard during the final pages of the latter comic issue. * The comic skips over various developments that have taken place before "Orange Is the New Purple" in order to tell its story. Presumably, these would've been addressed at a later time had the series continued after issue 8. The developments are: the return of SHUSH to the public eye after "F.O.W.L. Disposition", the presumably related reason why Gosalyn is allowed to come along to SHUSH facilities, the return of Negaduck after "Crisis on Infinite Darkwings", and the identities of the other two inmates stuck in solitary confinement who have eyes similar to Gnatmare's. Additionally, Flygirl's absence from the prison population is noticeable in light of Hotshot's and Ammonia's presences that follow on the events of "F.O.W.L. Disposition". Milestones * This comic marks the first appearance of Desiree Bell, Dullerd, Muckduck, Derp Derfson, Quackenbush Tunnel, and the St. Canard Maximum Security Prison for the Criminally Crafty. Muckduck was mentioned prior in the The Definitively Dangerous Edition version of "Crisis on Infinite Darkwings", Part 1. * Dip Dopson and Chip Dipson make their first visual appearances after having only been voices in the comics prior. Errors * As per the game, Wolfduck only has his muscular form when exposed to moonlight. No reason is given as to why he is in his muscular form in issue 1 instead of in his small form. * The Cheese Gang in issue 2 is generally off-model, but two members stand out. The one wearing a bobble cap lacks his thick eyebrows and blue irises. The leader of the gang is unrecognizable, being too large and lacking the small snout with black, drooping nose he is supposed to have. * Similarly, Pokerface is drawn somewhat muscular despite being fat in his comic of origin. He's more like his supposed shape in his profile in issue 3, although still not as rotund. * In issue 1, the Beagle Boys are drawn as the generic design Carl Barks gave them. In issue 2, they have DuckTales designs and are identifiable as Bigtime, Burger, and Bouncer. In issue 3, they're back to the generic designs. Other * Top Secret Files: Liquidator, Megavolt, and Negaduck (issue 2); Steelbeak, Pokerface, and Bushroot (issue 3). The first issue contains promotional material for Gravity Falls as its extra. * Although they do not appear, Morgana Macawber, Dr. Slug and Derek Blunt are mentioned in respectively issue 1, issue 1, and issue 2. * The preview pages of the first issue went up on April 03, 2016. * Negaduck makes the claim that "pretty much every criminal has ever locked up is within these walls". Even when accounting for all the criminals that are in another dimension, in another era, on another planet, or otherwise unfit to be locked up in the new prison, the art through all three issues depicts only just below a third of Darkwing's rogues' gallery. Major cuts are made in the inclusion of henchmen and non-cartoon villains. References External links * Orange Is the New Purple at I.N.D.U.C.K.S. Category:Joe Books